–I am requesting funds to travel to a laboratory at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France. Laboratory time will be used to learn techniques involved in examining the interaction of fungal cells with the blood-brain barrier. These techniques will assist me in determining whether morphological changes inhibit a cell penetration of the blood-brain barrier and will allow me to clarify my future scientific focus.

–I am requesting registration and travel expenses to attend the Cold Spring Harbor meeting on Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Response. The organizers of this biennial meeting have arranged a particularly impressive panel of speakers and session chairs to lead discussions on topics relevant to my current interests. In addition to the talks and seminars, I am looking forward to presenting my current work and discussing my research projects with other meeting attendees.

–I am requesting the fellowship to defray costs associated with attendance at a summer course on Microbial Oceanography at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. This course is essential to my postdoctoral work and professional development. It will expose me to a wide array of techniques and ways of thinking that are fundamental to conducting research in my field. In addition, attending this course would enable me to more rapidly build a network of colleagues, thus helping me establish myself in this field.